In line with Global Economic Prospects earlier this week, Rwanda’s Financial Minister Yusuf Murangwa, has announced the nation’s Economy is growing at an upward trend. Citing the agricultural sector, he said the nation grew at 9.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
Countering a Financial Times’ report that Rwanda is manipulating its economic data, the nation’s Finance minister, Yusuf Murangwa has revealed Rwanda’s economy grew by 9.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.
This has been largely buoyed by a strong rebound in the strong performance of the agricultural sector. As per the National Institute of Statistics (NISR), and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the economic outlook is contained in the latest gross domestic product (GDP) update announced on Wednesday.
While Rwanda’s services sector remains a key contributor to the country’s economic growth, increasing by 10 per cent in the first quarter alone, the agricultural performance has been on a downward trend in the previous two years.
This is mainly attributed to effects such as climate change, and other factors related to geopolitical crises. However, in the first quarter alone, the agricultural sector increased by 7 per cent contributing 25 per cent to the overall GDP.
In the first quarter of 2024, current market prices were estimated at Rwf4, 486 billion, up from Rwf3, 904 billion in the same period of 2023. Everything being equal, the Minister of Finance maintained that Rwanda’s economy is projected to continue its upward trend.
